Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1887-10-08
Foreign Correspondence,
LETTER FROM MISE WICK NIL.


mira, iTALY, July Glst, 1857,
From Geneva we came BY diligence.
4 distance OF fifty miles TO CllanoUniy,
a little village OF hotels ouly, nestled
in a valley at the foot Of the Mout
Btauc group. Tuesday VIC assembled
Avert, each On n small muic, with i
guide III front aud rear Of the party {;
eur objective poiu: being tie Mcr de
ulacc, The path was steep and mar
row, winding around The great noun.
tain, with u wall Of rock on one side
tnd q yaWning rbasm on the other,
: Bat We reached the summit safely and
after a succession OF soft and bcauli.
Ia! views Of the valley beneath. we
were suddenly brought tace TO face
with Il sccte worthy Of tho Arctic 70.
glons. snow! peaks anil zee gorgcs,
were all around ITS, an. at Unp feet lay
the wonderful Mer ia ulacc. This
ercatsglaeIe; looks JUS as ii the sea
mad become c|ongcaied in the mids, Of
4 terrible storm. II lies between two
great rugged walls OF rock and an int
mcnsc volume of water rushcs through
a large crcyasse. With the assistance
OF the guides. we walked across the
glacier, without beiD. uncomfortable
chilled and greatly cnjoved the buauti-
tui blue, or sea green, reelected from
Tho ice and sun Our descent was not
altogether as pleasant as tho asccn, ,
but we reached our hotel at Glamour
uiX, aud after resting two lays, made
another excursion to u glacier. This
Glacier DIES Dessum. 1t comes direct
~ from the summit of Mont Blanc and
in some respects is superior TO the 9TH
or. IT is u wild, wcired looking place.
and has curious pyramids, obliskt. and
square towers rising from its upper
extremity, AS il they were placed The. C
by The hand OF man.
We came by private carriage over
the Tete Noir Pass to Bricg, taking
the diligence here for the famous Sim
plon Pass, on which wo completed our
Journey through the Alps.
This Pass is 4 monument TO the gen.
JUS aud indsminablc determination of
, the First Napoleon. After the great
suffering aud loss in his army By their
passage V the Alps at the ST. Der.
nard Pass, he determined TO construct
n road that would insure Il sate and
easy passage for all time. In con-
siructing this studendous vladuct, the
sides Of great rocky mountains were
cut down, and walls of solid masonry.
hundreds of feet high, built on the
outer line OF the road stone bridges
across chasms so deep that tho water
rushing beneath can be heard but not
seen, were erected in many place. and
numerous tunnels penetrate mountains
Of peculiar shape ard large slzc, In
those localities where a~valanches are
common, the entire road is arohcd oy.
er with stone Tor miles. aud reminds
one of the old fashion covered bridges
This Is done for The protection of The
Traveller as be passes along, Every
few miles are houses of refuge. or hos.
piccs for the accommodation OF the
public. The diligence rat;lcs along
this road at a rapid rates, around
mountains, through tunnels and over
bridges, us if ii were on a city street.
Nothing can sarpass portions of
this Pass in grandeur and rugged Wild
ness. was especially thus impressed
at the Gorge of Condo, which we saw
jus, as We emerged from a tunnel 372
feet long. TO our right the F'rass mo.
rio falls-cainc lcaping from an I'M
mensc height. dashing and tplashing
under a tall bridge, with spray rising
up on both sides. giving us n dim and
iogcy view Of crasgy precipices and
iutiiug rocks all around. On the sum.
mir of Sllnphon is The Convent OF Mar
guy, built by Napoleon. The old
monks still entertaia travellers, and
are very kind, accepting whatever
grafniiy may be offered them.
We finally crossed the frontier of
Italy, aud experienced n decided
change oftemperatnrc. We spent our
first real summer night at Domodosi0.
Ia, coming hero ueyt morning, where
the hot sun has been pouring down
upon us all day. 10 our serious discom.
'urs Drr hpiel jsimmedntrlv on the